


it’s the heart that matters (in the end)

by drjemmanugent



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: 3x08, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Marriage Proposal, before the next episode, how i imagine the whole ordeal goes down, of course others had to talk some sense into these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 19:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21463126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drjemmanugent/pseuds/drjemmanugent
Summary: “He didn’t ask you clearly?” Bash had asked. What if Gilbert had? What would’ve Anne said? She didn’t have much time to contemplate what ifs as the train station came into view.or, the one where both of our idiots get their shit together and figure out this proposal thingy.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 171





	it’s the heart that matters (in the end)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! This is my first fic in years!! Shirbert has pulled me from my writing grave and forced me to write this fluff (does it have enough fluff, idk) piece about our two lovely idiots in love. By no means, I expect what I wrote to resemble what could happen on the show. I just needed a place to air out my frustration about these two. In my mind, they are confessing their love to each other in the next ep. I'm so scared about the remaining two eps in this season but at this rate, I hope we'll have more Shirbert angst. I love for that shit. 
> 
> I hope you like it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I can't wait for the next episode, guys! ok bye 
> 
> title insp. from “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas

“I’m in love with Gilbert Blythe!”.

Her head feels light headed, having had bolted upright so suddenly, but she was as sure as she ever was. Why should she keep denying herself of this reality? They were friends, close friends. They’ve gone through so much these years, more so these past few months. She felt connected to Gilbert in such an unprecedented manner, she didn’t know what to do with herself, she realized. But she was suddenly very sure of this, and she felt relieved.

“I knew it!” Diana sat up right after her, a gigantic smile beaming across her face.

Anne let out a sigh of relief as Diana said this. “What?”

“I could tell he has been on your mind lately!” Diana proclaimed. “That day at the fair had unmotivated you but you still cared for him in that way.”

“I guess I’ve always cared for him.” Anne reasoned, mostly to herself, still processing this brand-new reflection.

“Of course, but now you accept it has grown to more.” Diana grabbed her friend’s hands. “You have to tell him.”

Anne nodded, but then something else dawned on her. It’s probably too late to tell him, isn’t it? He was just saying that Winnifred’s father had given him permission to propose. The Sorbonne was within in his grasp and Paris was to be his new home. He was to become a respectable doctor. Anne herself reasoned with him that was all he had ever wanted.

“What’s holding you back?”

And what was his response…

“Just… one thing…”

Gilbert’s eyes were so full of, Anne couldn’t make out what it was, but whatever it was paralyzed her beside the campfire. His hazel eyes had been completely deepened and they were staring at her only.

What could he have meant by that? Surely, not her. He was with Winnifred. In the cusp of proposing and leaving Avonlea forever.

What had she said?

Oh right… Better yet, what hadn’t she said? She blurted out a string of nonsense, even “pirate” made it into her mutterings. Had he professed his feelings?

No. He didn’t say a thing. Right?

“I have to tell him.” Anne coincided with her very best bosom friend. Diana jumped off the bed and pulled Anne with her, sucking the breath out of her lungs.

Diana accompanies Anne all the way to the divide in the road. “I need to get back home before I’m missed but go to his house. Tell him. And tell me all about it after.” Diana giggles as she blows a kiss to her bosom friend.

Anne reciprocates the gesture and soon enough turns around towards Gilbert’s house. She quickens her pace, sprinting ahead. In a matter of moments, the Blythe residence comes into view. This place has been more and more familiar to her. Frequently rounding to take care of Dellie and helping Bash and Gilbert out around the house when Marilla comes over, Anne wants to think that to her there is a sense of home here.

She notices that no one is in the orchard so she makes her way directly to the front door. She knocks and vaguely remembers the time when Mr. Blythe had answered the door to her incessant knocking a few years back.

This time, Bash answers the door and an immediate smile reaching his eyes. “Anne! How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you.”

“Come on in, I’m just setting Dellie for her nap.” Bash chuckles, gesturing to a giggly Dellie seated upon a blanket on the floor.

Anne motions a “hi” to the baby but her returns to Bash. “Thank you but really, I’m just stopping by. Is Gilbert here by any chance.” Unconsciously, Anne tiptoes to see over Bash’s shoulder but doesn’t see him.

“Oh, he’s not here.” Bash says, sliding a towel from his shoulder into his fingertips.

Anne can’t help but felt deflated. Here she thought she would be able to do a grand proclaiming of her realization to Gilbert.

Just as she was going to say her farewell, Bash says in somber tone, “He left.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Yes, he left for Charlottetown.”

“Oh, do you know when he’ll back?” Anne asks expectantly. 

“I’m not sure...” Bash says, but he begins to notice something in Anne as he says so. “Why do you ask Anne? Does it have to do with a recent conversation you had?”

Anne tilts her head. Does Bash know of what happened at the campfire? He and Gilbert are good friends, family, brothers. Could Bash know? Maybe Gilbert told him.

“Somewhat… yes.” Anne nods slowly, testing his knowledge of the subject.

“Okay, Anne, please come in for a second.” Bash steps back, allowing for Anne to step into the kitchen. She kneels down to Dellie and pinches her cheek. The infant shrieks contentedly and flaps her arms at Anne. She can’t help but pick up the child and balance her on her hips.

Bash is smiling at the scene but shakes his head into focus.

“Anne. Can I ask you a frank question?” Bash’s tone is serious. Were it not for the smattering of different colored stains on his shirt, of which Dellie is undoubtedly responsible for, Anne might be very worried right now.

“Of course,” Anne says, bouncing Dellie a bit to the infant’s delight.

“You and Gilbert have been friends for some time now. I’ve seen the way you carry yourselves around each other. There is a great respect between the two of you. Gilbert told me of his conversation with you the other night. If I may, what were your reasons for refusing his proposal?”

At that point Dellie had slammed her hand on Anne’s cheek but Anne barely registered it.

“What?” Anne doesn’t recognize the tone that came out of her mouth, hardly loud enough to be heard surely.

“Yes, you told him there was no chance for you two.”

“What?” Anne repeated, loud enough this time. Bash blinked and pressed his lips together, fearing he had said too much about the subject.

“He never… Was he proposi-… But pirat-, Paris…” Anne found herself once again without the ability to string sentences together. As if sensing this, Dellie slammed her little hand across Anne’s face to effect that Anne blurted, “But he never proposed!”

“What? No, Gilbert was sure you rejected his proposal.” Bash said, taking Dellie from Anne arms as a safety precaution to Anne’s face.

“No, he never proposed. In fact, he was telling me that Winnie’s father had granted him permission to proposed to _her_. Certainly, not me. That medical school was in the horizon for him. He just needed to propose to _her_.”

“Oh Blythe.” Bash muttered under his breathe, loud enough for Anne to hear. “Anne, he didn’t ask you, are you sure?”

“A girl would know.”

Bash presses his temple with his free hand. “He didn’t ask you _clearly_?”

“Was he going to?” Anne urged.

Bash turned on his heel and placed his little girl down on the blanket. He sprints out the doors, signaling Anne to follow him. “Anne, Gilbert left for Charlottetown this morning, said he would catch the afternoon train if he had missed the morning train. He might be reaching the train station or maybe he’s already left, I don’t know. If you take our horse, you might just catch him.”

“You think so?”

“I hope so.” Bash replies, chuckling. He reaches the stable and pulls their horse up for Anne to jump on the saddle. Once Anne is securely on top, Bash says, “Godspeed, dear Anne.”

And so, as Anne races towards the train station, her mind is equally reeling. Gilbert had proposed to her at the campfire. But of course not! He never said the words, he never even insinuated a thing!

_Just… one thing… _

Had he proposed? Was that his proposal?

Trees around her turned into a green and brown blur, the wind messily undoing her braids. If Gilbert had matrimonial intentions that night, upon seeing her in this state, maybe he’ll never propose now.

_Proposal. _

_“He didn’t ask you clearly?” Bash had asked. _

What if he had? What would’ve Anne said? She didn’t have much time to contemplate what ifs as the train station came into view.

Surely, as her luck would have it, a train was already chugging away on the railway, another train in toe, pulling up into the station. Anne mustered all the speed she could. Heck, she had made it in time to see Ka’kwet off on this same path. Hopefully, she could also make it. She was in enough range to hear the conductor calling for last minute riders at the emptied platform. Anne reached the platform, securing the horse, and running up behind the conductor and onto the train.

“All aboard!”

She had made it. Despite, having several witnesses to her hopping a train, she thanked the universe no one singled her out. She swiftly to her seat nearby a sleeping older lady and tried calm herself.

Gilbert was probably on this train, in some other car, she noticed, since she couldn’t identify him in hers. She thought for a second that she should search the train but that could just get her caught. So instead, she sat still in her seat.

However, sure enough, Anne can’t keep her foot still as her anxiety slips in. What is she going to respond should he ask her? If he asks her… He’s heading to Charlottetown after all. To ask Winnie to be his wife. And what, Anne’s going after him to congratulate him?

What is she doing? She shouldn’t have come. Anne is a reasonable person, always has been thanks to her friends, her books and her intellect. But she heeded Bash’s and Diana’s encouragement on what basis. Yes, she is coming around to the idea that she actually loves him but what if its unrequited. Now that it’s a very real possibility, Anne frowns at the memory of her talking to Belle of such notions of love. Unrequited love is the worst, what was she thinking!

It’s decided. When the train stops, she’ll hop off and return to Avonlea.

After what seems like an eternity later, the train is pulls into Charlottetown and Anne bolts towards the exit without a second thought. As she bounces off the last step, she sighs in relief. Call her a coward but she is not ready to face Gilbert and most of all, face his rejection.

Its all unclear, how could he have proposed to her? He never said the words, he didn’t get on one knee, and he didn’t profess any emotions rather than frustration about his impending proposal to Winnie. He never intended for Anne to be a recipient of his marriage plans.

Just as she shakes her head at her train of thought, she bumps into a warm figure and tumbles a bit forward. The subject prevents her fall as he starts says, “I’m sorry, mi-”

She recognizes that voice, his tone. She identifies this person’s satchel with she knows and her heart immediately drops in horror.

“Anne.” Gilbert says, helping her regain balance, his hands securely on her forearms.

“Gilbert, hi.” Anne replies sheepishly. Couldn’t she have gone unnoticed…

“Hi. What are you doing here?”

“How are you.” She says simultaneously.

“Well, I’m fine.” He responds as she say, “I’m visiting a friend in town.”

“Oh.”; “That’s great.”

“Yeah.” They say in unison; an uneasy silence falls between them as people continue to get off the train past them. But somehow, a tangible shift is present and Anne suddenly takes notice there are gold specks in Gilbert’s hazel eyes. And he’s staring back at her.

Snapping out of her reverie as a whistle blows, Anne says, “I have to get going.” She shimmies out of his grasp and starts making her way to somewhere that isn’t this train platform.

“Anne,” she hears him call out, feeling fingers wrap around her elbow. He gently tugs her to a stop. “What are you doing here? Truly?”

She can’t lift her gaze to meet his. She just can’t; because if she does, she’s sure she’ll melt in front of him and be her most vulnerable self. She might just confess her dying love him in this train station.

It seems this is her plan after all, though, because she spurts out the following: “I don’t know why I’m here, really. I just know that all this doesn’t make sense. A few months ago, I was well, I was content, these matters far away from my mind and heart. But most recently, you’re all I think about. I’ve come to confess it and it turns out that it has been obvious to everyone all along, it seems, and I was the only one unaware. And apparently, you been holding feelings for me, at least that is what I have understood from others, and then at the campfire… what exactly were you trying to say to me then? Because that was not a proposal at all! Having someone you like tell you, you are the one thing holding him back isn’t exactly a compliment, Gilbert. But then again, you are saying I am the one thing that could make you stay… Which is what I want most in the world right now!”

“Anne,” Gilbert’s voice is so small, and their current setting doesn’t help at all with hearing him. The imprudent conductor is blasting some kind of order. 

“Please don’t say my name like that.” Anne begs.

“Anne, I…”

“You don’t have to say anything, Gil.”

He presses his lips in a way that makes Anne shiver. His eyes ever so constant, seeping into her own blue ones. She could very well turn into a puddle right here.

“But I want to.” He says, steeping closer towards her. “Anne, I…” He lifts up his hand and tenderly caresses her cheek with his thumb. Anne doesn’t mean to but she closes her eyes at his touch.

“Anne, I’ve been an idiot.” She opens her eyes to see his furrowed brow as he says this. “I’ve rushed into things, things that don’t make any sense at all. Paris, the Sorbonne… proposing to… I feel like someone I don’t recognize running towards these things. But when I’m with you, I see a completely different path, not really sure what it is yet, but I know that in that space, I never wish to parted from you from that moment on.”

Anne gasps at that. Is he really saying all these things? She realizes she’s pinching herself, hard, and it damn hurts.

“I’ve loved you since that morning we met in the forest. I’ve loved you many times over when you’ve let you heart and passion guide you in everything you do. I am mesmerized by you. I love you and I’m certain I want to share life’s greatest moments with you, if you’ll have me.” And in that moment, Gilbert fished something from his pocket and took Anne’s hand, placing the object in her palm.

A ring. A simple band with a brilliantly and modest green stone.

Barely registering it’s presence, Anne remains her palm open.

“But, what about…” Anne begins, unsure if she really wants to ask this question. But she must. “What about Winnifred? She’s so lovely and she doesn’t deserve this.”

“I’ve talked to her. I had to be frank with her. Thanks to you, I had clarity on my way here.” He fishes yet another thing from his pocket. A pen… “If I’m honest, I was on my way to propose to her but for all the wrong reasons. She is a kind person but she isn’t the person I’m in love with.”

Her pen.

“So, she knows?”

“She knows. She was understanding.” Gilbert chuckles as he continues, “I’m not sure if her parents will be as well, though.”

Anne stares at him. She rolls her pen in one hand and feels the weight of the ring on the other. It’s all suddenly so real and Anne doesn’t hesitate another second to wrap her arms around him, pulling him down to meet her lips.

He is definitely taken by surprise but he responds swiftly. He begins by ghosting his lips over her own and he appreciates the moment to deepen their kiss ever so slightly, cupping her face adoringly.

“Are you willing to give us a chance?”

“Are you?” Anne remarks.

“Could we not argue, for once?” Gilbert says in a teasing manner.

To which, Anne automatically responds, “Could you please stop contradicting me?”

“I feel like we’ve lived through this before…” He has the nerve to chuckle at their interaction and it earns him a smack on the arm. Playful, of course.

“I’m willing to give us a chance.”


End file.
